Like he has the past three years, Cooper Kupp was at his very best on the biggest stage. But so was Gage Gubrud in his starting debut.

Thanks to record-setting days for the wide receiver and quarterback, the Eastern Washington University football team upset Washington State 45-42 Saturday (Sept. 3) at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash. It was EWU's second victory in four seasons over a Pac-12 opponent, having defeated Oregon State to open the 2013 season.
 
"Special things don't happen by accident," Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin told his jubilant team after the game. Besides the dominant offensive performance, Baldwin also had high praise for a defense which allowed 515 yards but kept the Cougars scoreless for a critical 31-minute stretch from the second quarter to the fourth quarter.
 
Eastern's offense, with five first-time starters, rolled up 606 total yards – 17th-most in school history. They included 474 passing and 77 rushing by Gubrud, a sophomore from McMinnville, Ore. He had five TD passes and ran for a game-clinching 30-yard score to give him a school record 551 yards of total offense. The previous record was 518 set by Vernon Adams Jr. against the Beavers in the 49-46 victory over 25th-ranked OSU.
 
With 12 catches for 206 yards and three touchdowns against the Cougars, three-time All-America receiver Cooper Kupp broke the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record with a current total of 59 touchdown receptions. He finishes with 40 catches for 716 yards and 11 touchdowns in four career games against Pacific-12 opponents (WSU, Washington, Oregon and Oregon State). Last season, Kupp set Autzen Stadium records of 15 catches for 246 yards against Oregon (9/5/15).
 
 
Won-Lost Records . . .  
* The game was the season-opener for both teams. The Cougars of the Pacific-12 Conference and the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision were 9-4 last year and capped the year with a 20-14 victory over Miami in the Sun Bowl. Eastern lost its final three games of the 2015 season and finished 6-5, and missed the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs for only the fourth time in 12 years.
 
 
What It Means . . .
* Washington State entered as a more than 20-point favorite, and the Eagles easily covered that spread. In EWU's previous six games versus FBS opponents – including five versus Pac-12 foes – the Eagles won two of them and had been outscored collectively by a mere 22 points (204-226).
 
 
What's Next . . .
* The two teams which have combined to win the last six FCS titles square off this Sept. 10 in Fargo, N.D., when the Eagles take on top-ranked North Dakota State in only the second meeting ever between the two FCS powerhouses. The Bison are the undisputed heavyweight of the FCS, having won the last five titles since EWU won in 2010. In the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs that season, a late game-tying drive at EWU's Roos Field led to a 38-31 victory in overtime for the Eagles. The last team to win the national title was Villanova, which fell to the Eagles the week after EWU beat NDSU.
 
 
Keys to Game . . .
* Washington State scored on four-straight possessions in the first half, but then the Eagle defense stiffened and didn't allow another score for 30:56. The Eagle offense scored 17-straight points to take a 38-28 lead it held until 4:42 left. The Eagles all but clinched the win with a 30-yard touchdown run by Gage Gubrud on EWU's ensuing possession. The Cougars scored with 14 seconds left, but EWU's Kendrick Bourne recovered the onside kick to secure the victory.
 
Top Performers . . .
* Senior Cooper Kupp continued his assault on the FCS record book by catching 12 passes for 206 yards and a 75-yard touchdown reception in the first half that is the second-longest in his career. He now has 59 career touchdown receptions to break the previous FCS record of 58, and has had at least one TD in 34 of the 40 games he has played.
* Sophomore Gage Gubrud, one of six Eagles – five on the offense – making the first start of their careers, completed 34-of-40 passes for 474 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 77 yards an another score. His 551 yards of total offense broke the previous school record of 518 set by Vernon Adams Jr. against Oregon State in 2013 when he passed for 411 and rushed for 107. His passing total was the fourth-most in school history.
* Senior wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Shaq Hill combined for 14 catches for 206 yards. Hill had seven for 119 yards and Bourne finished with seven for 87.
* Jordan Dascalo, a former Cougar, punted three times for a 55.3 average and kicked a 48-yard field goal that started a decisive 17-0 scoring run by the Eagles.
* Sophomore Alek Kacmarcik led the defense with nine tackles, and sophomore safety Mitch Fettig, senior safety Zach Bruce and senior linebacker Miquiyah Zamora each had seven. Senior defensive end Samson Ebukam had six tackles, including a pair of sacks for minus 13 yards in losses. Fettig also had a key interception late in the first half.
 
Key Stats . . .
* Eastern dominated the third quarter, out-gaining WSU in total offense 196-58 after leading 332-288 at halftime. In the game, Eastern had a 606-515 advantage, and the turnovers were tied at one apiece.
 
Turning Point . . .
* An interception by sophomore Mitch Fettig late in the second quarter was just the stop and turnover the Eagle defense needed for confidence. Eastern turned that into momentum, with a 48-yard field goal by former Cougar Jordan Dascalo beginning a string of 17 unanswered Eastern points and a 38-28 Eagle lead.
 
Team Highlights . . .
* The Eagles are now 10-24 all-time versus members of FBS, with four victories in the last 18 tries – two of them against Idaho. In 2017, Eastern is scheduled to visit Texas Tech (9/2/17) and host NDSU (9/16/17), and EWU has also previously announced agreements to play in 2018 at Washington State (9/15/18) and in 2019 at Washington (8/31/19).
 
Milestones & Records . . .
* In just 40 career games, Cooper Kupp has 59 career touchdown receptions to break the previous FCS record of 58 set by New Hampshire's David Ball from 2003-06. He is also approaching two other FCS all-time marks with 323 catches (72 away), for 4,970 yards (280 away). Kupp has now established eight Big Sky Conference records, 18 school marks and eight NCAA Football Championships records. His career reception yards ranks behind the record of 5,250 set by Elon's Terrell Hudgins from 2006-09 his receptions trail the record of 395 set by Elon's Terrell Hudgins from 2006-09.
 
Notables . . .
* Six Eastern players made their starting debuts against Washington State. The lone starting debut on defense was made by sophomore cornerback Josh Lewis. On offense, three of the four new starters are along the offensive line where all five starters and two senior backups were lost from the 2015 team. Freshman redshirts Tristen Taylor (tackle) and Chris Schlichting (guard) made their debuts on the left side of Eastern's line, and sophomore Matt Meyer made his debut at right guard. The other new starter was sophomore quarterback Gage Gubrud, who attempted just 13 passes as a redshirt freshman last season. True freshman Antoine Custer Jr. started for the first time in his career, and he and Gubrud hooked up on a 14-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter that was the initial TD of the 2016 season and of their careers
* Junior Albert Havili made his first career starter as a defensive end. He started twice in 2014 as a linebacker before a knee injury forced him to redshirt in the 2015 season. His injury occurred in the first padded practice in spring of 2015 right after he moved from linebacker to defensive end. He set an EWU true freshman record with 61 tackles in 2013.
* Punter Jordan Dascalo, defensive back J.J. Njoku and offensive lineman Matt Meyer began their collegiate careers at Washington State. Dascalo was WSU's punter in 2014, ranking sixth in the Pac-12 with an average of 41.6 yards per punt. Njoku played in five games in 2012 on special teams, including action on one kickoff versus the Eagles. Meyer graduated from high school in 2013, grayshirted and then redshirted at WSU in 2014 before transferring to EWU.
* Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Dylan Ledbetter made his Eagle debut against the former team of his father, Mark Ledbetter. Mark played as a linebacker at Washington State and lettered from 1986-89. He won the Frank Butler award for "Cougar Spirit" in 1989. He played in the Aloha Bowl on Dec. 25, 1988 and had eight tackles with a sack.
* Sophomore Cole Karstetter, EWU's starter at rover, has an older brother Jared, who played as a wide receiver at Washington State (2008-11). Jared appeared in 49 games for WSU, making 39 starts and finishing third in school history in career touchdown catches (19) and fourth in career receptions (166). He had 1,988 total receiving yards.
* Tali Ena, the uncle of Eastern assistant coach, Eti Ena, was a standout running back at WSU (1976-79) and went on to play for the Seattle Seahawks. In addition, the uncle of linebacker Kurt Calhoun is former WSU and Seattle Seahawks running back Dr. Dan Doornink.
* Eastern was edged by the Cougars 24-20 on Sept. 8, 2012, in front of a sold-out crowd of 33,598. Despite the proximity of the two schools, Eastern is now 1-3 all-time versus Washington State, having not played the Cougars in a varsity game in more than 100 years from 1908 to 2012.
* Eastern has fared well in previous meetings with the Pac-12 Conference, including a 49-46 victory over 25th-ranked Oregon State in 2013 in only the fourth victory by a FCS team over a ranked FBS foe. The Eagles also suffered close defeats to Washington (59-52 in 2014 and 30-27 in 2011).
* For the third time, head coach Beau Baldwin and the Eagles faced Mike Leach-coached team. Leach was hired by WSU in 2012, but was also head coach at Texas Tech University when Eastern opened the 2008 season in Lubbock, Texas. That game was also the debut in the EWU head coaching career for Baldwin. With quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree operating with superb efficiency, the Red Raiders came away with a 49-24 victory, piling up 536 of its 639 yards of offense through the air. Before Leach took over in 2012, Washington State was previously coached by Paul Wulff, who was 53-40 with three NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoff berths as Eastern's head coach for eight seasons (2000-2007). But he was let go by WSU after compiling a 9-40 record in four seasons, including a 4-8 mark in 2011. Wulff spent a total of 15 seasons at EWU as a coach and is now an assistant coach at Sacramento State, whose head coach is former Eastern assistant Jody Sears.
 
 
Head Coach Beau Baldwin Comments . . .
 
On Game: "We really felt like if we put it together and did a lot of things right, we could win this ballgame. We knew sometimes the margin is always tougher – not just against a Pac-12 team. This is a Pac-12 team coming off a bowl win with some incredible talent, especially on offense that makes them tough to stop. I still feel like WSU could go on and win eight or nine games. Our mindset was never to come in here to compete and try to be in the game late. Our mindset was to put together a game plan that gave us a chance to win."
 
On Gage Gubrud: "He just played like we went live in a scrimmage – and we've done that before. He didn't go out there wide-eyed or nervous. He didn't play perfect – nobody played perfect and I didn't coach perfect. You're always searching for that, but he went out there with confidence and attacked it. I think that helps you a lot when you settle down and don't pay attention to everything else that's going on."
 
On Five New Starters on Offensive Line: "Based on offensive numbers and what people saw, I thought they answered a lot of questions. It's especially tough on an offensive line on the road when it's tougher to hear and you have to go with silent counts. They did their work humbly and they were hungry. They respected the crew that was here last year, but they want to start something and grow together as an offense line. They are going to have to continue to grow because there are going to be plenty of mistakes to correct. Whether we won that game by three or lost that game by seven, all the plays you study are all the same. Sometimes we get caught up with end result, but sometimes he comes down to one play here or there in the result. Yet the other 100-plus plays have to be evaluated. But I really believe, like I said about Gage, they didn't come in worried or nervous. They had the mindset that we belong, and they took that approach and attitude."
 
On Being 1-0: "The first win is sometimes the hardest – and when you looked at our schedule, I'll bet a lot of people thought our first win was going to be hard to get. You have to stay in the moment, good or bad. We have to stay locked in. We'll enjoy this for 24 hours – and you have to. We put in too much grind not to still feel some of the enjoyment. But come Sunday we have to evaluate the film kind of like we lost because you're always trying to improve. That's the only way you can consistently win games."